The present invention relates to presses, and particularly to a simple press suitable for cheese making and having latching means for holding the press in a pressure applying position to which it can be moved manually.
Many different forms of presses are known for applying a wide range of operating pressures: most known presses are either screw operated or hydraulically operated, but they all have the common disadvantage of being complex and expensive. Moreover, for applications involving foodstuffs known such presses are also difficult to keep entirely clean: this latter is of particular importance since contamination of foodstuffs must be rigorously avoided.
In the above exemplary application for presses of the present invention, that is in the manufacture of cheese, the press is ued to remove the whey from curds produced when milk and milk products are treated with appropriate baccilli at controlled temperatures. The degree of pressure exerted at this stage in the cheese making process has an important effect on the type of cheese produced, the greater pressure providing harder cheeses. Although screw operated or hydraulically operated press have in the past been used for this purpose, the complexity of their component parts does make it difficult for them properly to be maintained sterile. Absolute sterility is an essential requirement since infection of the curd during the cheese making process with baccilli other than that or those with which the curd is deliberately impregnated will modify the characteristics of the eventual cheese thereby spoiling the process. Another factor influencing the cheese making process is the fact that when the curds and whey are initially compressed, the resistance to compression does not remain constant, but reduces as the whey is gradually expelled from the curd. Since this is a relatively slow process, it is necessary to adjust the pressure at regular intervals over a relatively long time. This involves continual supervision.